Brick-machine



(No Model.) 3 Sheets-Sheet 1.

J. OpANDERSON] BRIGK MAGHINE.

Patented May 8.18.83.

(No Model.)

whats-sheets. J. 0. ANDERSON.

BRICK M'AGHINE. No.276,992.

Patented May 8, 1883.

BRICK-MACHINE.

PATENT OFFICE.

JAMES o. ANDERSON, or HIGHLAND PARK, ILLINOIS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 276,992, dated May 8, I883.

' Application filed February 5,1883. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern Be, it known that 1, JAMES (LANDERSON, a citizen of the United States, residing at Highland Park, in the'county of Lake and State of 1llinois,have invented'a newand useful Improvement in Machines for theManufacture of Brick; and I do declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, which form a part of thespecification.

My invention relates to the manufacture of brick from the sedimentary deposits and the excavatedclay from river-beds; and my invention consistsin mounting the brick-making I Fig. 2 is an elevation of the mold-wheel,press- Fig. 3is a top view of the same.

ore-wheel, and the plunger operating disk. Fig. 4 is an end view of the excavating and disintegrating mechanism and mechanism for conveying the clay from thedisintegrating-rolls to thepressing mechanism. Fig. 5 is a sectional "view of the mold-wheel andplun'ger-operatingdisk, to gether with a portion of the feed-hopper.

By the machine described in Letters Patent 268,976, granted to me December 12, 1882, the clay is excavated and thrown onto an endless chain or series of traveling molds, which convey the clay to the pressing mechanism, and retain the same until the requisite pressure has been applied to form the brick. The brick is then thrust on to a carrying-belt, and thence to the drying-yard,thus dispensing with thefrequent handling. of the clay. In the present invention a like result is accomplished, but with different mechanism, and the clay is excavated, carried to the disintegrating and pressing mechanism, and formed into bricks of the desired shape without manipulating the clay by means of manual labor, and theprocess of pugging, tempering, kneading, and mixing the clay by hand is obviated. i

Referring to the. drawings, A designates a vessel, of any suitable or desirable construction, on which is securely mounted the frames or brackets B, which support the disintegrating and pressing mechanism,together with the 'a fixed bed and the clay brought to the machine without detracting from the novelty and effectiveness of such mechanism.

dredging mechanism. I do not limit. myself,

G is a socket secured firmlyin position inthe bed of the machine to receive and support the vertical shaft 0, to which the mold-wheel D and gear-wheels D and E are rigidly secured, the top of said shaft 0 being steadied and held in position by means of a yoke, E, the ends a of which are secured to the standards or brackets B B.

F is a shaft mounted in the brackets 11 b, which are secured to the bed of the machine in a strong and durable manner. The inner end of the shaft F is provided with a bevelgear, F, whichmeshes with the bevel-gear D on the shaft 0, while the outer end, of the shaft F is provided with a pulley-wheel, 0,.

over which an endless belt, 61, passes for conveying the finished brick away from the machine.

level with and parall'el'with the shaft Gr, said shaft being provided with a pulIey-wl1eel,l,

' which is connected by means of a belt or other suitable mechanism to any convenient source of power. The shaft G is also provided with a pinion-wheel, P, which meshes with the pinion-wheelH on the shaft G, and by means of the bevel-gears G" and E motion is imparted rop shaped drum, K, which supports and drives P, secured to the frame of the machine.

the endless chain of excavating and elevator buckets L. The shaft K also supports the elevator-frame L, in the lower end of which is secured the drum M, around which the elevating and excavating buckets pass, while the frame is adjusted toward or from the work or raised entirely out of the water or pit by means of the bail M, chain N, and windlass N, as in my patent above referred to, so that a further description of the excavating 'mechanism is deemed unnecessary. Suffice it to say that the clay, when brought up from its bed, is thrown into a hopper, 0, where it is crushed and ground into the proper consistence for the manufacture of bricks.

The crushing and grinding rolls above referred to are shown in Figs. 1 and 4, and are designated by the letters 0 and P, the roll 0 being mounted on the end of the shaft G, the

outer end of which finds its support in the bar roll I is secured to shaft 0, which hasits bearings in the frame.B and bar P, while the shaft 6 is provided with a pinion-wheel, f, which meshes with the pinion H on the shaft G, and through which power is appliedto the rolls. I have shown and described the grinding-rolls of this construction more for the sake of illustration and to show their relative arrangement with the other parts of the machine; but I prefer to use, in connection with the pressing mechanism, the disintegrating mechanism patented to me August 8,1882, No. 262,3;i0. I do not, however, wish to be understood as confining myself to such. The clay, after leaving the disintegrating-rolls, gravitates into a spout, g, and into the molds of the pressing mechanism, which I will now proceed to describe.

As before stated,the mold-wheel is secured to the main driving-shaft G, and is driven thereby in acontinuous rotary direction. The mold-wheel D consists of a disk of metal or other suitable material, and is provided on its top surface with a series'of mold-cavities,.g, having inwardly-projecting cavities h, which receive the stems h of the pressing-plungers i. The rear ends of the plunger-stems are provided with an' upwardly-projecting pintle, i, on which is secured a friction-wheel, 70, which fits or works in the cam-groovek in the disk 1, said disk beingsecnred to the yoke E, which in turn is secured'by means of the extensions or arms a to the frames B. To the periphery of the mold-wheel are hinged a seriesof doors orflaps, O, which, when closed against the mold-wheel, form the outside or outer wallof the mold. These flaps or doors 0 are opened by the pressure of the plungers in the process of ejecting the brick from the mold but, to prevent injury to the newly-formed brick, spiral or other springs may be so placed as to impinge on the rear side of the flaps or doors, so that when they are freed from the devices which close and hold them against the moldwheel during the pressing operation they will be forced open by the action of the spring and The permit the plungers to eject the'brick. m is a friction-wheel mounted in the arms m, which project from the cross-bar or arm a, and impinges on the doors or flaps as the mold-wheel is rotated, and presses them against the side of the mold-wheel while the mold-cavity is being filled with clay, and continues to hold the same until the wheel Q comes in contact with the flap or door and holds the same rigidly against the mold-wheel during the press ing operation of the brick, which occurs at this point. The wheel Q is mounted in suitable bearings, and is composed of a paper body, a, made up of a series of paper disks held firmly together he metallic disks or flanges n, bolted thereto or therethrongh. The wheel m maybe made of paper also,and of the same construction as the wheel Q. The object of making the wheels of paper is to give an elastic or cushion-like surface, and as these wheels are rotated by frictional contact with themold-wheel alone better and more satisfactory results can be attained than would be the case if these wheels were made of metal.

dis a solid extension of the feed-hopper, which serves to hold back or scrape off the surplus clay, and also to inclose the top portion of the mold during the pressing operation. the plungers, is rigidly secured to the yokeE, as before stated. The cam-groove k is elliptical in form,and is eccentric to the axis or central shaft of the mold-wheel, as shown in Fig.

3, the apexes of the elliptical groove being the points at which the pressure is exerted to form the brick and eject the same from the mold, while the longer sides of the elliptical groove gradually push out and draw in the plungers. It may 'be'convenient and'desirablein some in- The cam-grooved disk I, which operates stances to carry the clay from the disintegratin g-rolls to the mold-wheel, especially where it is not convenient or desirable to elevate or raise the disintegrating mechanism, so

that the clay will be conveyed to the molds by gravity alone. Such a device I have shown in Fig. 4, and it consists of a closed spout or channel, Q, leading from the chamber below the disintegrating-rolls to the feed-hopper above the mold-wheel, in which is mounted an Archimedean screw, R, driven by any suitable means. This method of feeding the clay to the mold-wheel from the disintegratingmachine-enables me to build my machine in a more compact 'form and obviate the necessity of carrying the clay so high as would be necessary where the molds are fed by gravity direct from the disintegratingrolls.

The operation'of my machine is as follows: The clay iselevated and thrown into the dis integrating apparatus, where it is reduced to a proper degree of fineness, from whence it is conveyed or falls by gravity into the-feed-hopper, which lies close to the upper side of the mold-wheel. Theclayfallsintothemold-cav'ity which is formed by the closing of the hinged flaps onto the outer side or edge of the mold wheel. The mold having been filled with clay,

IIO

i the surplus clay is held back in the hopper by the shoe 0, which forms the top of the mold when the mold is fairly under it, and it is at this point of travel in the rotation of the moldwheel that the plungers are thrust forward by the action of the cam-groove, on the ends of a the plungers to compressthe clay within the mold-cavity and form ,the brick. After the mold-wheelhas passed the pressing-poinhlor the pointwhere the pressure is applied in formin g the brick or other article, the doors or flaps which form the outer Wall of mold-are relieved from the pressure or from contact with the wheels "in and Q, and the doors or flaps fly open, if a spring is used for that purpose; but

.it no spring is used the force exerted bythe plungers to eject the brick opens the flaps or doors, and allows the brick to bepushed out onto the bearing-off belt. It will be observed that no manual manipulation of the clay is requiredby the use of this machine, and all the force necessary (except one or twoatteudants of the machine) will be boys or unskilled labo to back up the brick to dry.

Having thus described my inveution,,whatI claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent,

is a 1. In a dredging, excavating, and brickpressing machine, thecom'bination of the dredging and excavating mechanism, substantially such as described, with a disintegrating mech-- anism and a pressing mechanism, as set forth.

2. In a machine for pressing plastic or other material into blocks or forms, a mold-wheel coin posed of a diskhaving depressions or cavities in its upper surface, plun gers located within said cavities, and doors or flaps hinged to the periphery of the mold wheel, which form the outer wall of the mold during the filling of the mold and during the pressing operation, as set forth. I I

3. A mold-wheel in which plastic or other,

material is pressed into form, composedof a disk recessed in its upper surface, and provided on its periphery with hingedflaps or doors,

which form, when closed, the outer wall of mold, as set forth. a

4. In a machine for pressing clay and other material into form, a horizontally-rotating mold-wheel provided with mold-cavities in its upper surface, in combination with the plungers and with the stationary cam-grooved disk, asset forth.

5. The mold-wheel D, provided with the hinged doors or flaps G", in combination with y m andQ, and the plungers i, as set forth.

7. In amachine for pressing brick and other material, the horizoutally-rotatingmold-wheel constructed, substantially as described, with a feed-hopper provided with a solid foot or extension, ,0, lying close to the top of the moldwheel to form the top wall of the mold during the pressing operation, as set t'orth..'-

J. G. ANDERSON.

Witnesses:

LILLIE E. ANDERSON, J. F. ANDERSON. y a 

